


Oct 20: Beasts

by MadhouseVagabond



Series: Scarefest Challenges 2017 [20]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Achievement Hunter Minecraft AU, Angst, Dark God Ryan, Death, Edgar the Cow - Freeform, FYRTFF Scarefest Challenge 2017, Fear, Gen, M/M, Mad King Ryan, Mutation, beasts - Freeform, jeremwood, scarefest challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 19:20:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12588816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadhouseVagabond/pseuds/MadhouseVagabond
Summary: He'd warned them that they needed to fear Edgar, told himself that he kept the cow in the hole to protect the others. But now all hell is breaking loose and those closest to Ryan Haywood are in danger!





	Oct 20: Beasts

_"No, you need to fear Edgar!"_

Ryan's words spoken almost two years ago seemed at the time to be in jest, a flippant joke made in the moment. No one could've possibly imagined that the words carried weight, nor could they imagine that they somehow were connected to what happened to Ray. Ryan had begun to suspect once the voices had started speaking to him at night, when he'd wake up to find the docile beast staring at him. He'd put Edgar in the hole not so much for the shock value and how he knew the others would react, but more so to put an end to the voices that told him to do terrible, awful things to his friends.

Now the cat was out of the bag. Or to be more precise, the cow was out of the hole!

Ryan ran through the forest, darting around trees and leaping over bushes, glancing behind him every couple of minutes, unsure if he was still being pursued but unwilling to stop. The night had seemed so peaceful, so quiet. He'd been taking a nice walk around Achievement City, taking in all that he and the rest of the Hunters had created and built to make the City as amazing as it was. Jeremy had been walking with him, the two sharing a moment alone which was rare for them since they were always busy working or around the guys. The two had paused near the path leading to Jeremy's house and the clearing where the Hunters' logo was carefully patterned into the ground, Ryan taking Jeremy's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze as he rubbed the back of the lad's hand with his thumb.

"This was nice," he said softly, almost afraid that his voice would shatter the peace of the moment. Jeremy had smiled, blushing.

"Yeah. We should..y'know, do this more often," he'd said. Ryan had blushed then and smiled down at the lad, his sparkling bluer than blue eyes meeting the lad's chestnut browns that always made the gent feel light inside.

"I'd like that," he'd said. The two stayed there for a moment before the sounds of screaming and cries of animals reached their ears, chasing away the sweet moment they two were sharing.

They'd run down the path towards the Hunters' homes, seeing fire beginning to light the darkening sky. Ryan saw that Jack's house was on fire, a Nether Portal activated between Gavin and Jeremy's homes, people running everywhere. But the strangest thing that met Ryan's eyes was the animals. The sheep each of the Hunters had raised were larger than normal and they were chasing down people and mauling them, their pigs breathing fire out of their noses as they charged the fleeing populace, the horses turned into centaurs and were ripping people in half with their bare human hands. All the beasts had glowing red eyes!

"What the fuck?" Jeremy had breathed beside him. Ryan had blinked and then pulled Jeremy to the ground beside him.

"Jeremy, listen to what I tell you. I need you to run! Run to your hidden house at Fishing Jamboree. Run there and hide! Wait for me and the others. Please don't argue!" Ryan had said in a rush as he looked worriedly at the lad. Jeremy had frowned and began to shake his head.

"I can't leave you Ryan! I can help, I won't leave you alone here!" the lad had protested.

"Dammit Jeremy please just do it! I don't want to lose you like I did Ray! I won't go through that again, not again," Ryan had cried, tears beginning to fill his eyes and he gripped Jeremy's shoulders tightly. Jeremy had stared at him in surprise for a moment but then nodded.

"You'd better not do anything fucking stupid Haywood, I don't want to lose someone special to me," he'd said not looking happy but his face softening. Ryan had nodded and pulled Jeremy in for a hug, the two holding each other tightly as if it were the last hug they'd ever give the other.

"I'll come back for you, I promise!" Ryan had said as the two parted. Jeremy had nodded, tears in his own eyes as he stood and ran, disappearing into the night.

Ryan had searched for the others, found Geoff and Michael and directed them after Jeremy. He'd found Jack crying over Gavin's body as the gent hid in the woods nearby nearly dead himself. Ryan comforted his friend and felt his heart ache for the loss of Gavin, and instructed Jack that when he could, to meet up with the others.

He'd made the stupid decision to go back to his house and retrieve his cracked golden crown, only to discover the hole Edgar had been in was broken and the cow was missing. Turning Ryan had almost collided with Edgar, the cow blocking the door. The cow's eyes blazed fury and he mooed angrily as he stalked towards Ryan; darkness swirling around the beast, transforming it into a tall Minotaur. Ryan had fallen to the floor, scrambling backwards to escape as Edgar drew closer.

"You ignored us Ryan, you ignored our instructions. Now everything must fall!" Edgar had said in an echoey voice like he'd been possessed. A red bolt of energy flashed out of the cow's eyes and had streaked towards Ryan, the gent holding up his diamond sword just in time to deflect the shot, the energy reflecting off the blade and striking the wall blowing a hole in it which Ryan darted out of.

Now Ryan was running, running for his life. He glanced back but saw no signs of pursuit, slowing his pace slightly as he neared the pillar that led up to Cloud Down.

"Guys?" he called softly hoping his voice would carry. No response.

"Fuck!" he grumbled as he trotted away. He hoped Jeremy was at his secret house safe and sound.

The sound of a wolf howling brought Ryan to a standstill, his blood freezing. He looked towards one of the hills he'd crossed on his way here, a tall figure standing atop it, silhouetted by the moon. Even at this distance and with whatever fucked up magic Edgar had performed on him, Ryan knew without a doubt that the wolf was his.

"Wolfy..." he said sadly, remembering the day he'd found the pup and all the time the two spent together. Ryan shook his head. No, that wasn't Wolfy anymore, not after what Edgar had done to him.

He took off running again, pushing himself to go faster and faster in order to reach safety. In order to reach Jeremy. He heard a yelp from the tree line and saw Geoff dart out, spotting him and falling into pace with Ryan.

"What happened to you? Where's Michael?" Ryan asked.

"He's..he's gone, Ryan," Geoff said as tears filled his eyes. The gent set his jaw trying not to cry but Ryan saw that it wasn't helping.

"Geoff...I'm so sorry. First Gavin, now Michael," he said as they hopped a bush.

"Let's just get the others safe okay?" Geoff snapped. Ryan nodded knowing the man wasn't angry at him, just sad and dealing with his loss in his own way.

They ran on, the two of them checking behind them every few yards. Ryan was worried that they were leaving a very discernible trail for Wolfy and any of the other beasts to follow. They neared a waterfall and stopped to catch their breath, taking refreshing gulps of the cool water. Ryan walked through the stream to the other side, telling Geoff it was to throw the wolves off their trail for a bit. As Geoff crossed a piercing scream filled the night air. Ryan looked at Geoff and they darted towards the sound, hearing the sounds of pigs nearby. Stopping just short of a clearing Ryan looked out from behind a tree and grimaced.

Jack lay on the ground, covered in blood as the pigs tore into him and shredded his flesh. It was an act more out of hate than of need for food, not that the pigs had ever turned on the humans. Ryan recognized several of the pigs as the ones Jack had raised, the creatures turning on their caretaker.

"Geoff, we need to go," he breathed and turned.

Geoff was gone.

Ryan's blood froze and he looked around desperately for his friend. He shrank back into the shadows and backtracked the way they'd come, hoping Geoff had just tripped or fallen in a hole or something. Stumbling out of the trees Ryan saw that he'd reached the river they'd crossed a few moments ago. A figure stood a few paces away from him on his side of the river and Ryan sighed in relief as he walked forward.

"Fuck Geoff, give me warning next time you wonder off I was worried. What the hell are you doing out he..." Ryan's sentence was lost when he reached out and turned the figure, terror choking the breath from him.

It was indeed Geoff, but he'd been strapped to a crude cross-like structure, feathers impaled into his eyes and chest, blood running down the man's body. Ryan stumbled back with a strangled sob before turning and running. Tears filled his eyes as he ran, he just wanted this to all be a bad dream, one he'd wake up from soon and everything would be okay, all his friends safe and sound. Stumbling, Ryan burst out onto the campsite of Fishing Jamboree and ran to the end of the dock.

The water was frozen this time of year, ice covering the surface in a thick sheet. Slipping and sliding, Ryan made his way to his makeshift igloo he'd built to ice-fish along with the others, knowing there was a hole in the ice there he could dive into. Safely in the igloo Ryan looked down into the murky water and took several deep breaths to prepare himself for the shock of the freezing water. Reaching into the chest by the wall he pulled out a few potions and drank two of them, one to help him breath under water for a short time and the other to keep his body warm.

_These won't last long so I need to hurry!_ he thought as he pocketed the rest of the potions and dove into the dark water.

It took him a moment to adjust his eyes to the darkness of the water but he soon saw a giant dark shape not too far away with a faint light glowing there. He and Jeremy had often come here for some alone time with each other just to hang out and play games, without the chaos of the others and their bickering around. Ryan began swimming in the direction he knew the secret door was in and soon reached it, his potions running out just as he poked his head through the entrance.

He looked around the giant house searching for Jeremy, his heart catching when he didn't see the young man. Tears filled his eyes again and he shook his head, refusing to believe that something had happened to Jeremy.

"Jeremy?" he called as he climbed down the ladder to the floor and stood trying to dry himself. There was only silence.

"Jeremy please answer me! Please!" he cried, the tears flowing down his cheeks as he rushed around the house searching for Jeremy. Still nothing. Ryan fell to his knees and held his face in his hands as he cried. He wanted Jeremy, he wanted to hold him and hug him, to smother him with kisses; but most importantly he wanted to keep Jeremy safe. Ryan cried there on the carpeted floor of the secret house, he wasn't sure for how long before his sons were reduced to smalls cries and hiccups.

_Lose something Haywood?_

Ryan's head shot up at the sound of the voice and he rose to his feet, drawing his sword and looking around. There was no one there with him, just the emptiness and loneliness he felt.

"W-who's there?" he asked.

_Oh please Ryan you know who it is cut the shit!_

Ryan whirled again but once again no one was there.

"If I knew who you were I wouldn't be asking who you were would I? Where are you?" he grumbled.

_I'm hurt Ryan, after all the time we've spent together. I mean, we have been roommates for many years now._

Ryan's eyes widened as realization began creeping up on him. His grip on his sword tightened and his eyes narrowed.

"Edgar," he said.

_Bravo hero! You've solved the mystery. But what is a hero without his damsel in distress?_ Edgar's voice spoke in Ryan's head.

"What are you...Jeremy!" Ryan shouted as everything fell into place.

_Two in a row! Good job, I'm proud of you. As a reward, your little friend stays alive a little bit longer._

"If you fucking hurt him I swear I'll..." Ryan began to growl.

_You'll what? Honestly Ryan I'd have thought by now you'd realize that there's nothing you can do to stop me._ Edgar laughed.

"Do not hurt him Edgar!" Ryan growled out.

_That depends entirely on you big boy. We'll be at the King's Court. Be there in five minutes or else it's goodnight Jeremy!_ Edgar said.

"Wait! How do I know you really have him? I want proof!" Ryan cried out. There was a moment of silence before an image flashed in his mind of the mutated cow holding Jeremy off the ground by the front of his shirt, the lad struggling. Ryan's eyes filled with tears again.

_Be there. I'd hate to kill another one you love._ Edgar said before the room was again filled with silence. Ryan scrambled to one of the chests he and Jeremy had filled with potions, grabbing several and stuffing them in the pouch that hung at his kilted side. He grabbed a few ender pearls and held one to his forehead, concentrating on where he wanted to go before crushing the pearl in his hand.

He was instantly teleported to the courtyard of the King's Court where he'd sat as the Mad King for many a year now, the wind gentle and calm, the night sky lit up by the moon and stars. If it hadn't been for the terror and death, Ryan would've said it was a perfect night. He turned and saw several cows and assorted animals gathered around the thrown, the giant Minotaur that was Edgar perched on the seat of the thrown holding a trident in one hand and thumbing a whip resting beside his other.

"Ah the hero appears! Come to save his damsel in distress," Edgar snorted causing the other animals to laugh.

"I'm here Edgar, now where's Jeremy?" Ryan demanded. Edgar rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers. The animals parted as Wolfy walked up from the lower level of the thrown room where the Hunters had kept their beds, tugging on a rope. Jeremy stumbled behind him, crashing to the ground with a grunt. His hands were bound in front of him by the rope Wolfy held, his head bleeding slightly from a cut above his left eyebrow.

"Jeremy!" Ryan shouted.

"Ryan! Oh thank Christ!" Jeremy exclaimed, joy filling his eyes along with tears.

"Aren't you two the cutest thing? It's gross, human affection," Edgar piped up. Ryan turned to him, death in his eyes.

"Let him go!" he growled.

"You thought it'd be that easy didn't you? How stupid are you Ryan? You're the Mad King for pity's sake, I expect more from you," Edgar laughed.

"Let. Him. Go!" Ryan took a threatening step forward as he spoke. The animals instantly rose to their feet, growling and hackles raised. Edgar raised a hoofed hand.

"I'm sorry Ryan but that's not how this is going to go down. See, I'm in control now, you'll do as I say," he said. Ryan was shaking with rage and he looked at Jeremy, the lad glancing nervously between him and the mutated cow.

"I'll do whatever you say, but first release Jeremy and promise me you'll never hurt him again! You have my word!" Ryan spoke.

"Your word? The word of the Mad King? The word of a liar? Hard pass buddy but good try. I'm enjoying this too much. To think you did so much to protect them, to keep all your friends safe. Now they're all dead," Edgar huffed. Jeremy gave a small cry and glanced at Ryan who just hung his head.

"Ryan, what's he saying? What does he mean?" Jeremy asked. Ryan squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head slowly.

"It's...complicated Jer," he said.

"How complicated is it? You lied to them Ryan, kept the truth from them, and now they're dead because of you and your stubbornness!" Edgar laughed. Jeremy looked at Ryan confused.

"Tell him Ryan," Edgar coaxed. Ryan gritted his teeth and shook his head.

"Tell him!" Edgar roared and raised his hand, Jeremy rising into the air grasping at his throat and gasping for breath.

"No! Stop it don't hurt him! Alright I'll tell him just stop hurting him please!" Ryan screamed. Edgar smiled triumphantly and lowered his hand, Jeremy falling to the ground and gasping. Ryan walked over to Jeremy and held him for a moment before standing and looking up at Edgar.

"Just promise me. You won't hurt him again. I'll do anything you want," he begged. Edgar raised an eyebrow and smiled but nodded. Ryan turned back to Jeremy and helped the lad to his feet.

"Ryan, what's going on? Why is Edgar doing this?" the lad asked. Ryan took a deep breath.

"Long ago, when I first found Edgar I thought he was just a normal cow. A friendly pet who'd decided to move in. It wasn't until a few days before Ray...before what happened to Ray that I realized the truth and put him in the hole. I told them then that they needed to fear Edgar. They thought I was kidding and being creepy, and to be fair I was to a degree, but there was some truth behind it. Edgar isn't a normal cow," Ryan began.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy asked glancing nervously up at Edgar.

"Edgar had been possessed by the demon lord Herobrine. I put him in the hole to protect all of you from him. He'd tell me things late at night, terrible things. He got into my head and tried to make me do things to all of you. That's why I went insane for awhile," Ryan finished. Jeremy looked up at Edgar again, fear creeping into his heart.

"What does he want with us?" he asked.

"He probably will kill us. That's why I made him promise to leave you alone. I need to finish this Jeremy, no matter what. I can't let my mistake go any further. I'm sorry," Ryan said as he turned and walked back to stand in front of Edgar. The man looked at Jeremy, a small smile on his face, comforting and warm. Ryan sighed and looked up at Edgar.

"You have me now. What do you want?" he grumbled.

"Oh Ryan I have everything I need right here," Edgar said and turned quickly, throwing his trident with all his might right at Jeremy.

"No!" Ryan screamed and threw out a hand, summoning every ounce of his power. Time seemed to slow as the trident neared Jeremy, the lad freezing and raising his hands to shield his face instinctively. Ryan concentrated on the trident and before everyone's eyes the metal weapon broke into billions of tiny pieces that swarmed around Jeremy, flowing passed him and reforming as the trident behind the lad, sinking itself into Wolfy's chest, the mutant wolf giving a grunt of pain before falling dead to the ground.

All eyes turned to Ryan, beasts shocked and confused, Jeremy terrified, Edgar angry. There was a moment of silence as the scene sunk into everyone's mind. Then with a roar, Edgar rose to his feet and grabbed the whip, raising it and snapping the hissing whip at Ryan, the end catching the gent on his shoulder painfully. Ryan cried out in pain and grabbed his shoulder. Edgar shot the whip out again, this time at Jeremy, the whip wrapping around the lad's bound hands and the beast yanked Jeremy forward. The lad stumbled to the foot of the thrown, several wolves holding him firmly, the Minotaur striking the whip against the lad over and over again mercilessly. Jeremy's screams of pain filled the night air.

"Stop!"

Everyone froze at the sound of the voice. Ryan was standing now, hands clenched at his sides, head down and eyes closed. He shook with anger that the beasts could almost touch. The only sounds to be heard were Jeremy's soft cries as he struggled weakly under the the wolves holding him. Edgar breathed heavily, glaring down at the two humans.

"What did you just say to me? You dare order me, human!" he growled. Ryan took a step forward and nodded his head.

"I will make you watch as I slowly flay his skin and feed it to my minions! Jeremy will die tonight and then you shall join him at Hellsgate!" Edgar roared as he marched down the steps of the thrown, passing Jeremy and the wolves and standing in front of Ryan.

"You're wrong. The only one who dies tonight is you Edgar," Ryan said, his voice hollow and dark. Edgar spat and raised his hooved hand to strike Ryan, but as his hand neared the gent's face it froze in midair.

Ryan slowly raised his head, his eyes snapping open, causing Edgar to scramble back in fright. The human's eyes were a pulsating glowing red, pupil less. His face was dark and he seemed to grow slightly, as a dark evil laugh started billowing up from deep within him. Jeremy looked up and swallowed at the sight, Ryan looking both terrifying and wonderful all at once. Edgar took a step back before the laughter grew louder, booming off the walls of the courtyard.

"You fool," Ryan said with an evil grin before darting forward, quicker than anything anyone had seen before, sinking his fingers into Edgar's chest and his teeth into the beast's throat.

Ryan dug his fingers deep into Edgar's chest, a dark energy dripping off of them as he dug past the skin and muscle, past the rib cage. He sank his teeth harder into the beast's throat and yanked his head back and forth, tearing flesh away, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. Edgar tried to scream but with his throat being ripped out all he could manage was a gargling sputter. As the beast began to die, Ryan lowered him to the ground, releasing his throat as he stared into the cow's eyes.

"You're never going to hurt him again!" he said.

_What is this? I feel so much power coming off of you!_ Edgar asked in Ryan's head.

"This? This is what happens when a King becomes a god!" Ryan growled and ripped Edgar's heart out of his chest, watching as the beast's life left his eyes.

Whirling around Ryan raised his arms out to his sides and he rose into the air, his crown floating out of his pouch and resting atop his head. The beasts beneath him growled and gnashed their teeth but their anger soon turned to pain as Ryan threw several potions of harm onto them, each creature soon floating into the air as well. Jeremy watched as Ryan's hands glowed a dark red and black, the gent closing his eyes for a second as he breathed in and out. The lad wondered what Ryan was doing when a seemingly random thought occurred to him.

_Ryan was breathing in the beast's fear and pain!_

Ryan laughed again, the sound growing louder and louder as the beasts began howling in pain, their hearts slowly ripped out of their chests and every ounce of their blood pulled from their bodies. As each beast died a strange white light escaped from their bodies and zipped over to Ryan, becoming one with his body. Soon, each and every one of the beasts was dead, and Ryan was surrounded by gallons of blood which swirled around him before landing in the old prisoner pit not far from the thrown. The shriveled bodies fell to the ground and Ryan slowly descended, landing in front of Jeremy who scrambled back slightly in fear, Ryan's eyes still glowing red. The ropes around Jeremy's wrists melted away and his wounds were healed.

Ryan turned away and the red glow ceased, he seemed to shrink in size slightly, back to normal. He took several deep breaths before falling to his knees, head in hands as he wept. Jeremy was stunned but walked over to Ryan and sat beside him, pulling the gent into a hug. Ryan clung to Jeremy, crying into the lad's chest.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry! It's all my fault they're dead. All of this is my fault. I'm sorry you had to see that, I wasn't going to lose you," Ryan sobbed. Jeremy rocked them back and forth, stroking Ryan's hair comfortingly and making soft soothing noises to calm him.

"It's okay Rye Bread. You saved me, I knew somehow you'd find me and save me!" he said. Ryan looked up at Jeremy, eyes red from crying and cheeks wet from the tears. He hiccuped slightly as Jeremy took his face in his hands and gently brushed away the tears with his thumbs.

"I love you Ry!" he said. The gents eyes widened and a smile played onto his face, eyes lighting up.

"Y-you love me? Even after all that?" he asked gesturing towards the carnage behind them. Jeremy nodded and leaned in, planting a gentle kiss on Ryan's lips. Ryan froze for a second, shocked before kissing back.

"I love you too Jer Bear! I'll never let anyone or anything hurt you again!" Ryan said when they'd parted.

"After what I saw tonight I would hope not!" Jeremy chuckled and winked. "So, you're a god now huh? What kinda god are you?"

Ryan thought for a moment and glanced back at the scene of death behind them, seeing all he'd done, after he lost control and gave into the darkness within him that he'd held back for so many years. Slowly he looked back to Jeremy.

"I guess, I'm the Dark God!" he said and the two kissed again.

**Author's Note:**

> I got caught up with a lot o real life things going on and a bit of lack of motivation and some other shit so this is why I've fallen behind with posting these. I'm so very sorry to those who are following this series, and I promise that I'm getting the rest written as you read this! Thank you for reading my shitty stories, it means a lot!


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